


Into the Fire

by ratwolf



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Corruption, Gen, Tags to be added, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratwolf/pseuds/ratwolf
Summary: After Silver and Blaze's final showdown with Iblis, a change in circumstance leads to Silver becoming Iblis' next vessel. But when things go awry and Silver starts acting strange, they realize their battle may not be over just yet. It becomes a race against time as Blaze, Silver, and others fight to stop the corruption before it's too late.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

This was it. One final strike to the molten beast and it had collapsed in on itself. Its colossal form broke apart, hitting the lava below with ground-shaking thuds, sending waves of magma into the air. Piece after piece of what used to be the creature's body fell in a slow, mesmerizing pattern, until finally, there was no structure left to hold it up and its large torso folded inwards, bringing the rest of it down. The resulting shock sent buildings crumbling all around Silver. He could no longer see Blaze, who had been stuck down moments prior by the now melting Iblis. In a desperate plea, he called out to his fallen friend, dreading the worst.

"Blaze! Blaze! Can you hear me? Please, tell me you're alright!"

A few beats of tense silence passed with no response before the hedgehog heard a groan. Blaze's voice came from somewhere to his right, beyond the piles of rubble.

"Silver..." she said weakly. "You must seal Iblis."

Taken aback, Silver sputters, "I _—_ I can't! You were supposed to be the one, you know how, I don't!"

Too tired to scold him, she only repeats herself.

"You must. Quickly, it's our only chance."

Looking on at where the monster once stood, he saw the rising, swirling flames of Iblis reach into the sky and he knew that if he waited any longer, it would escape and reform somewhere else. So, with gathered courage he materialized the two emeralds he held within himself and crossed them over his chest.

"C'mon, just work..." he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes briefly to focus.

When he opened them again, the flames began to bend towards him. A tendril of fire extended out from the main mass, aiming straight for the spot between the two emeralds, right over his heart. When it met with him, he gasped in shock.

At first, he did not feel the heat, only a strange sense of invasion. But with each second he started to feel more discomfort as it clustered inside of him. It built up fast _—_ and so did the temperature _—_ going from hot to scorching in a moment's time. He shouted out in pain but kept the emeralds crossed over him tightly. The growing fire felt dense and heavy within him. Soon, he collapsed onto his knees, still holding those emeralds up until he quite literally could take no more. Once that limit was met, the emeralds dropped from his hands and he fell backwards onto his back, panting in exhaustion.

"Blaze... Help... I need you..." Silver gasped out between breaths.

This time, no response came.

An orange glow erupted from his chest, setting his fur alight with escaping flames. He automatically reached for that spot, hovering his palm somewhere over it. His markings flickered as he tried to contain the rising embers. Inch by inch, he lowered his hand in pace to the fire's retreat until it lay flat in a mess of singed fur.

He kept his hand there, sending waves of psychic energy to continue suppressing Iblis. Steadily, the struggle died down.

"I did it, Blaze... I..." he said, just before fading into unconsciousness.

***

_"Silver,"_ a voice called out to him from the dark.

He moved his body, but it didn't help any. He couldn't tell if he was standing or laying down.

_"Silver,"_ the voice said again, this time sounding closer than before.

He recognized it.

"Blaze? Where are you?" he asked.

Strangely, his own voice echoed back to him. A small flame, like that of a candle, appeared in the distance as soon as he spoke.

"Huh? What's _—_ " he started to say as he tried to move towards it, only to kick his legs out into empty space. 

He was floating.

"Blaze, is that you?" he asked in the direction of the candle light.

He tried using his powers to push himself forward. It was no use. Without a warning, the tiny, insignificant fire burst into flurry of whipping, molten tendrils. One reached out for him, wrapping around his arm and slowly dragging him into the sudden bonfire.

"Help!" he screamed. "Blaze, are you there? Blaze? **Blaze!** " 

***

The purple cat grabbed Silver's arm and squeezed lightly, saying his name again in attempt to wake him. He moaned and pulled away from her. When she first found him he wasn't like this. He'd been out cold for some hours, totally limp as she carried him back to their hideout (which was surprisingly unharmed). She had placed him on the mattress, intent to let him get some rest after their long battle. But just recently he began to thrash about in his sleep, mumbling incomprehensibly and jerking his legs in and out. Several times he'd rolled off the mattress and she was there to lift him back onto it. 

Now anytime she touched him, he seemed repulsed, scared even, reacting as if he'd been attacked. His eyes would shut tighter and his head would shake in defiance. Once, he'd managed a half-coordinated kick towards her. 

From then on she kept a slight distance away, still trying her best to wake him from whatever vivid nightmare he was having. Behind him and to the side, she repeatedly pushed at his shoulder.

He awoke in a state of alarm, breathing fast and jolting up to look around. The sight of his friend instantly filled him with relief.

"Blaze!" he exclaimed. "Aw man, I'm so glad you're okay. I thought you were a goner back there."

She helped him up before speaking. 

"Did you do it? Did you seal away Iblis?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it was crazy. I wish you'd been there, _with me_ I mean, you were around somewhere I think. I almost didn't make it," he paused to contemplate. "So, it's really over?"

She nodded.

"Looks like it. I've been checking for any of Iblis' spawns while you were out. Haven't found any yet."

"Sweet! We should go to the Oasis and alert the residents of the good news, if they haven't noticed already."

"You sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah, I feel great! C'mon, let's go."

***

The pair traversed the skyscrapers together, Blaze skipping from roof to roof and Silver hovering close behind her. They were almost out of Crisis City at this point, about to enter the barren wasteland, where cracked concrete that used to be a highway would lead them straight to the Oasis. Silver, however, was slowing down.

"Blaze, wait up," he said.

She complied, turning around to face him and watching as he drifted down to a perch. His hand immediately went for his forehead. There, he stayed quietly, fingers intertwined in quills and brow tensed, showing some disturbance. Blaze hopped from her position over to him.

"Is something wrong? This is the third time you've stopped like this," she commented.

Silver looked up at her, meeting her concerned expression with his own, but he shook it off quick.

"Nah, I'm good. Just feeling a little drained," he explained.

It was an understatement, of course. Ever since they left their little hideout and he'd started using his powers again, he felt overworked, like he could barely manage to lift his weight into the air. And what always came of pushing his energy past its use was a headache, this one being particularly lingering.

Blaze saw right through it. She narrowed her eyes at him with conviction.

"Really, it's fine. That fight must of just taken a lot out of me. I can relax once we get there," he said.

"If you need to rest _—_ "

"No, no, going back now would be a waste of time. I feel better already, honestly," Silver dismissed.

He was anxious to finally get back to the Oasis after so long battling Iblis' spawns. The decaying, densely populated town was far from paradise, but it was much better than anything miles around. Reinforced walls surrounded its border to keep out the hoards of creatures, and snipers worked around the clock to keep the Takers away. As an added bonus, it was also the closest place with running water.

Silver put on his most convincing smile as he rose back into the air.

"C'mon, let's keep going," he said, not bothering to wait for a response from Blaze and gliding past her, off the edge of the building. She still held her doubts, but followed after him regardless.

Very few words were exchanged for the rest of their journey. They had a short conversation about their futures, detailing what they'd do once the lava finally cooled and places were rebuilt. Dreaming of days spent at a park or a beach. Simple recreation they'd been denied for nearly their entire lives. Sure, it was all pretty far off, but both were excited to see this torn world finally heal.

After an hour spent traveling down the highway, they arrived in town. Silver planted his feet back on the ground, walking besides Blaze through the gate. It was a dingy little thing, more of a thin opening in the wall than an official entrance, yet it's simple design kept the spawns from getting in. The pair of them paced along streets turned wide walkways, going past dozens of citizens that looked the worse for wear. Many had serious burns covering their exposed skin.

Blaze paused mid-stride to peer through the crowd. In the distance she spotted a man with a firearm strapped to his shoulder, walking by what used to be a shopping district.

"There's a defender up ahead," she said. "If we tell him what happened, he can get it around to the others."

Silver nodded, not yet in the mood for speech. He was exhausted from pushing himself so hard, and the miserable people that surrounded them wasn't helping him any. He just wanted to sleep the rest of the day away.

They approached the gunman, who instantly took notice of them. After all, they were a few of the only short, furry people around. Pretty hard to miss. He even seemed to recognize them.

"Haven't seen you two by here in a while," the man started. "Name's Jack, by the way. Silver and Blaze, right?"

"Mhm," Blaze hummed. "We came hoping to spread some updates on Iblis. Would you mind getting it around for us?"

"Not at all, hit me with it," Jack replied.

***

"So you're saying that thing is in this little guy now? The stories high, God-like monstrosity that's been tormenting us for years?" Jack asked, perplexed.

"Yes," Blaze said. "When Iblis is dormant, it is as small as a candle flame."

Jack just shrugged at that.

"Hey, as long as it's not out here anymore, I'm happy. Does this mean those creatures are going to stop multiplying from now on?" he asked.

"They should be gone entirely. Iblis spawns need Iblis to survive. It's where they get their energy from," Blaze explained.

"So it's really over, huh? Well, you bet I'll make this news spread like wildfire, pardon the expression. Everyone's going to know before the end of the day," Jack said.

After that, they parted ways with the man, continuing to walk down the crumbling roads of the barely standing town. Sometime along the way, Silver stopped to sit on the curb. He curled up slightly, resting his lowered head in his palm. He was so tired he could have fallen asleep right then and there. Blaze took a seat beside him, saying nothing and just looking at him for a short moment, examining him.

"You don't look so good," she finally said.

"I'm not," Silver admitted. "I'm exhausted."

"It seems like there's more to it than that," Blaze observed. When no response came, she added, "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Silver shook his head, causing his world to spin for a short bit. His condition was worse than he had previously thought. 

"It's not like that, I just..." he searched for the right words to describe what he was feeling. "There's something _wrong_ about this, all of it..."

Blaze tilted her head at him, prompting him to continue.

"It's like something is just waiting to happen, don't you feel it?" Silver asked.

A period of thought was shared between the two of them. 

"You mean like it's not really over?" Blaze suggested. 

"Yeah, exactly, I can't shake the feeling."

"Silver, we've been dealing with this for a long time, it's only natural that you feel _—_ "

Before Blaze could finish her sentence, Silver suddenly sprung up from the curb. Her eyes followed his focused gaze to the building across from them. An old church. The crooked, cross adorned peak of it collapsed toward the street, right in the path of a citizen.

"Watch out!" Silver shouted.

He reached towards the commotion, extending both palms as he tried to halt the building's fall. Bright blue sparks flew from his hands and encompassed the large chunk of debris in a field of psychic energy. The terrified citizen below ran from the collapse, which hovered frozen only a couple of feet above their head. At the same moment they escaped to safety, the field flickered and failed, scattering the mess of wooden parts to the ground.

Silver's legs trembled and not long after, he too fell down. First onto his knees, then forward, almost falling flat on his face if it weren't for the grasp of Blaze on his right shoulder. She held his limp body in place, embracing him from the side while calling to him.

He was out like a light. 


	2. Chapter 2

His eyes opened slowly. Light cast in through the gaps of a boarded window, ending at the wall he faced. His half-lidded gaze went over the pattern of cracked paint before closing again. For the next few minutes, he rolled around in the creaky bed, tangling the thin sheet over his body as he stretched and moaned. Outside noise roused him out of his drowsiness.

When he finally sat up, he looked around the empty room. Besides the bed, a nightstand to his left was the only furniture he saw, upon which a glass of water stood. It was just out of reach, so he instinctively tried to grab it with his telekinesis. It didn't move an inch. He tried again and still, nothing. Not even the signature glow that would emanate from his markings.

He didn't feel weak at all. There was no headache or any sign that something was wrong. His powers were just _gone_. Several more times he made an attempt, each one a failure. On the seventh or eighth try he gave up, shifting over to the edge of the bed and grasping the weirdly warm glass, taking an uneasy sip.

What even happened yesterday? All he could remember was talking to Blaze and then the next thing he knew, he was here, alone. Had something caused this?

Thinking things over, he realized that Blaze might know something about this. She was likely the person to drop him off at this motel room in the first place. That, or he wandered here on his own, again, he couldn't recall. Either way, finding Blaze was the best thing he could do now.

He left the bleak room after finishing the glass of water. The streets were just as busy as normal, and as he walked among the locals he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. People were staring. Almost everywhere he looked someone looked back at him, an odd expression of confusion on their face. It freaked him out. Some even whispered to each other when he walked by.

If he was a hero now, he sure didn't feel like it.

He'd paced down several blocks before deciding to ask for guidance. When he approached a random stranger, a flash of fear appeared on their face, just briefly.

"Hey, have you seen a cat around here? Purple, ties her hair up," Silver asked.

"Y-yeah, I think she was by the park," the stranger answered, pointing an index finger in the general direction of it.

"Thanks."

They only nodded in return and Silver left to continue his search for Blaze. Once he arrived at the park (which was really only the lack of buildings plus a few benches) Blaze was no where to be found. A frustrated sigh escaped him. He plopped down on one of the worn, wooden benches, doing his best to ignore the persistent stares. Somewhere in the crowd a familiar face noticed him. They walked over to where he sat and got his attention.

"That Blaze girl just left looking for you," Jack said.

Silver swung his legs idly and sighed again.

"You alright?" Jack asked. 

"Sorry uh, thanks for telling me, I should go find her," Silver said, getting up. 

"No problem, glad to help."

As he was leaving, he turned back, a question burning in his mind.

"What's up with everyone? They're looking at me like I've done something wrong," he asked. 

Jack rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Oh, well when I told people about Iblis like you kids wanted, they had a ' _slightly adverse_ ' reaction to the part with you. I stopped mentioning it once I noticed the trend, but I guess it had already traveled at that point," he explained. "I'm sorry little guy, I'm sure they'll come around soon."

"What do you mean?" 

"They're afraid of you," Jack said plainly. 

For some reason, that put shivers down Silver's spine. 

"I don't get it, why would they be scared? Iblis can't hurt them anymore," Silver said.

"People are under the impression that you're not the best prison for this thing, they're worried that it can, and will, get out. Like you're a ticking bomb of sorts. I think they're just not used to the idea, seems to be fine to me."

"Geez... I'm not sure what to think of that..."

"Don't. I'm sure your friend misses you, you should go find her. It'll take your mind off it."

"You're probably right, thanks anyway," Silver said.

And with that he was back to walking the streets. His eyes cycled from the asphalt at his feet to the bent streetlights outstretched towards a now much clearer sky. As he watched those fluffy clouds drift by, he was reminded of the last moment he'd seen the sky so blue, in this time that is. His time, before all the destruction, before Mephiles and his lies, before he met that speedy blue hero in the past. Even before he knew that he had any powers at all. When life was just _life_ and it didn't have all this crazy stuff in it.

Thinking of it made him feel bitter. Here he was reminiscing over the past, idolizing a time of normality and at the same time lamenting his own return to the mundane. Without his powers, he felt as if a piece of him had been lost. He wanted to believe that it would come back, but what took place during his last attempt was something he'd never experienced until now. The extension of himself that would tether objects to him was not weak when he tried lifting that glass, it was gone. A complete flatline. 

This was supposed to be the end of their troubles, yet somehow, he felt worse than he had before. It's strange how things can work out like that.

He only realized that he'd gone the wrong way when he nearly walked straight into a wall, more specifically the border wall of town. He was on the other side from where Blaze and him had entered. Right in front of him, down the middle of the road, stood another thin opening. Instead of turning back he moved to it and peered out at the emptiness of the exiting highway. His legs carried him further outside, stopping a few meters from the wall.

It was hard to describe, but he felt _drawn_ to... something, he didn't know what. All he knew was that it wasn't in town. Or maybe he just wanted to get away for a bit, the feeling was too vague to say either way. He looked behind him at the wall and the entrance then back at the stretch of road.

Blaze could wait while he took a little walk, couldn't she?

***

The motel room door opened and Blaze stepped out into the lot, shaking her head. She'd checked on Silver about a half hour ago, gave him a few soft shoves and found him still in a deep sleep. He seemed much more peaceful than the last time he'd been knocked out. Well, anything would have been more peaceful than that panicked kicking he'd done before. She was relieved to see him sleeping so soundly. He definitely needed a good rest, and a good, long rest is what he got. Though it could be hard to tell the exact time of day, she'd guessed that he slept well into the afternoon.

Now that he was gone, she wasn't about to wander around town aimlessly searching for him. Someone must have seen where he'd gone off to.

The first person she questioned was a young woman right by the motel. She claimed to see him heading west a little under twenty minutes ago, and after a couple of blocks going down that way herself, she asked another person. They led her right back to the park she'd just left.

If they were going after each other, then chances were she'd be led in circles for hours. So, rather than go on a wild goose chase, she decided to wait for him on one of the benches. Hopefully the rumors weren't getting to him. She knew how sensitive he could get at times.

A conversation close to her perked her ears up.

"I saw that hedgehog everyone's talking about leave town a little while ago," someone said.

"Maybe things will start to calm down here then," said the other.

***

He'd lost track of how far he'd gone, or why he was still going in the first place. It felt like the further he went, the more he wanted to keep walking forward. His legs tirelessly brought him down the road. It wasn't until he came across an abandoned gas station that he finally stopped.

The crumbling structure barely kept standing, it's metal supports visible through giant holes in the walls. Outside of it were two rusted gas pumps and stacks of empty supply crates, marked with a star on all sides. He hopped up unto one of the crates and sat there silently, looking out at the endlessly sprawling highway.

_"What am I doing?"_ , he thought to himself.

_"Blaze is probably worried sick. I should really go back."_

But he didn't move from his spot. He kicked at the metal crate, drumming a steady rhythm into it. Each hit produced a resonating _clang_ that echoed in the empty lot. Every so often he'd glance up, always looking in the same direction. He was certain of it now; something was out there, he could feel it deep in his chest. It was so alluring that he found it hard to sit still, and even harder to move away from it.

This was a mistake. He shouldn't have ever come this way.

He dropped from the perch and made his way to the road, stopping to turn back and stare at those crates. It was strangely nostalgic to him in a way, they were some of the first objects he'd practiced his telekinesis on when he was little. Without thinking, he reached out to one and, much to his surprise, it shifted from its place slightly to the left. Astounded, he tried again, moving it towards another a stack of crates. A familiar blue glow emanated from his palms.

He could hardly believe it. His powers returned in the same day he lost them. The crate he'd been toying with shot suddenly into the air, mirroring his excitement. He waved it this way and that, gliding it effortlessly in circles in front of him.

During his little celebration, he failed to notice the item's interesting change of color until it was bright red. It slipped from his hold and fell to the ground, where the confused hedgehog approached it. Vibrant, glowing red slowly dulled with each passing second. Silver felt the heat radiating off of it.

He looked at his hands, then to a piece of wooden debris next to the building. After encompassing it in an energy field, it instantly burst into flames. He lifted it towards his face and for awhile he just stared at it. There was something awfully hypnotic about the way it flowed and danced. Only when it turned to ashes and there was nothing left to hold did his eyes leave the light show of orange and yellow.

_"How is this even happening?",_ was a thought that crossed his mind, yet it took a backseat to his emotions.

Piece after piece of debris was launched into the sky. He twirled them around, marveling at the flaming trails that followed every movement. On the last, largest piece which held together where the others had fallen apart, he swung it full force into the derelict convenience shop. He watched as the already wrecked wall collapsed further.

A sense of satisfaction washed over him at the sight. He felt like he was discovering his powers all over again, and in a way he was. Warmth began to bloom from his heart, beckoning him to him to keep demolishing the worn structure until it was nothing more than a pile of burning rubble. In the midst of his destruction, a voice called out from behind. 

"Silver?"

He turned, and upon meeting Blaze's eyes, the red hot crate that had been hovering in the air dropped down, landing in the space between them with a loud _thunk_. Blaze looked to it, then at the still flaming wreckage of the gas station.

"What happened here? Did you do that?" she asked, her tone accusatory.

Silver faltered under her gaze.

"I just _—_ it's not like it matters anyways. This thing was falling apart before I got here," he said defensively.

"Silver... something's up with you. I've never seen you act like this."

She walked over to the glowing metal, circling around one side of it curiously.

"How did you even do this?" she asked.

"I... don't know..." Silver said. Her concerned look was making him feel guilty.

Thinking back to everything he'd done, it was as if his actions were swayed somehow, his mind subtly influenced by some unseen force. The pull he felt to leave town, the hypnotizing effect fire had on him, his inhibitions gone as he took odd pleasure in vandalism. Blaze was right; something was definitely up with him. Something bad, something that didn't belong. And they needed to figure out what it was _now_ , before it got any worse. 


	3. Chapter 3

"This started recently?" Blaze asked Silver.

"Yeah, like, just a few minutes ago actually. Watch this," he said, bringing a broken plank of wood over to them. Just like before, it went up in flames the moment his psychic energy interacted with it.

"It's like you, kind of," he said.

She moved past him as he played with the fire, pacing around what was left of the fallen building. Silver watched her and his ears drooped with regret.

"I'm really not sure why I did that," he admitted. "I mean, sure, I was upset before but this wasn't about that. It just felt so... _good_."

Realizing what he said, his heart sank.

"What's wrong with me? This isn't right, this isn't _me_ , it's... it's—"

"Iblis," Blaze finished.

Their eyes met and Silver saw the way her brows tensed in worry.

"I always knew Iblis took some sort of pleasure in its destruction. And with your powers being all messed up as they are... Iblis must be affecting you somehow," she explained.

"How is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure. If Iblis is trying to take over your body, then we need to get it out as soon as we can. Theoretically, a transfer should be possible, but if the same thing were to happen to me, we'll need a back up."

"Like what?"

"Remember that scepter Mephiles was contained in? There must be a similar artifact capable of containing Iblis. Hopefully something less... breakable."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's try to transfer it now, we might not even need to find this artifact," Silver said impatiently.

Blaze shook her head and held out her hand. A dull gray chaos emerald appeared on her palm.

"This is why," she said. "When I found you unconscious after the fight, both chaos emeralds were drained like this. It may take awhile for them to recharge, maybe even weeks."

"Great... now what? Am I supposed to just wait around and hope this thing doesn't screw me up?"

"I don't think there's anything else we _can_ do, Silver. Finding another chaos emerald could take longer than it takes for these ones to recharge. So many places are still covered in lava and we have nothing to guide us. The best I can do right now is start research on Solaris."

Silver looked out into the distance. Something was still out there, still enticing him to some unknown destination. An idea popped into his head.

"I've been getting this weird feeling, like an attraction to something. Maybe it's a chaos emerald? I've got a pretty good sense of direction for it, whatever it is. It couldn't hurt to find out. Beats just standing around doing nothing," he said.

Blaze gave him a small nod of approval. "Lead the way," she said.

Silver turned away from her and moved towards the highway with Blaze close behind him.

"And Silver?" she began, stopping him in his tracks briefly.

"Hm?" he hummed.

"Keep your chin up. We'll fix this together, I promise."

He hadn't even noticed that he'd been glowering nearly the whole time before she said that. The corners of his mouth twitched up as a response. 

"Thanks, Blaze."

***

Their walk lasted for hours, and Silver was starting to regret not getting something to eat beforehand. His legs were getting so tired. It would've been much easier to just hover by, but he'd tried that early on to find that particular ability of his still nonfunctional. How was Blaze not worn out like him with those high heels of hers? She must be used to it, he figured. All that running and hopping about skyscrapers had to have built up quite the stamina, where as he almost never walked or ran for more than a few minutes at a time, always preferring to fly. And now, he was really paying for that habit. 

At some point in their journey, he stopped wordlessly and turned, squinting at nothing in a new direction. It was much stronger here, his sense for it gaining more clarity as they moved along. Although he knew it wasn't far now, a part of his mind twinged at the idea of getting any closer. There was something about it that caused an odd mix of dread and excitement to stir in his gut. The question that had been troubling him ever since they started going after this strange new sense he had hounded him yet again; _What if it wasn't a chaos emerald? What would they find there?_ And from a feeling deep down inside, the unspoken answer would repeat; _Nothing good_.

Blaze could see the subtle turmoil in his hesitance, she was good at that sort of thing—when it came to him anyways. All the way back to when they were young kids she could remember these moments with him. A lack of confidence, the fear of failure, the underlying uncertainty in some decisions. She could read him like a book. But not his thoughts, for that, she'd have to ask.

"Are you alright?"

Her question almost seemed to startle him out of a trance.

"Y-yeah, I... Let's just keep going. We have to go off the road now I think—no, I know. It's really close now," he muttered.

This place was a rural one, where so much of nothing spread on either side of the road, as far as the eye could see. What would have been vast stretches of fields and trees was now a barren wasteland of dead embers and burnt wood. Areas like these were given the nickname of "black forests" by many survivors, and were considered to be no man's land. It was obvious to see why.

As they trod through the carbon remains of the field, Blaze periodically spared glances at Silver, who carried on nervously but without pause. His eyes darted around, as if he expected something to pop out at them any second, and his ears pressed back slightly.

The blackened skeletons of trees grew in number the further they progressed. It wasn't long before a thicket surrounded them, which only served to heighten Silver's anxiety.

"It's so creepy here," he said, more to distract himself than make any meaningful observation. "It's all black _everything_ , like a funeral or something." 

He shuddered.

"I don't like it anymore than you do," Blaze agreed. "How much longer do you think we have to go?"

"Not far but... something seems off, and it's not just the environment. It feels so familiar too..."

Just then, a sound like the crackle of fire came from behind them. They turned in time to see an explosion of flames rise up, vanishing as quick as it started and revealing a large, glowing creature with chomping jaws full of jagged fangs. An Iblis Biter. It's hissing growl echoed hauntingly throughout the land and immediately afterwards, it launched into an attack. With a dog-like gait, it rushed towards Blaze, lengthy tail whipping behind it, flicking lit embers into the air. She dodged it just in time to narrowly miss its bite. 

Silver, prepared to lend aid to his friend, brought a fallen tree trunk over to the sudden conflict using his altered telekinesis. He snapped it into two flaming pieces, yet before he could toss either one at the threat, a second Biter spawned close to him. It lunged at him, knocking him to the ground along with the two logs. He struggled against its weight and futilely attempted to throw any object around him at his assailant. Being unable to see anything but the Biter's large body made it impossible to manipulate things accurately. Small branches and stones would randomly lift from the dirt to fling out in equally random directions. Strangely, the creature above him didn't make another move but open its long maw at first. It only stared down at him, or with its lack of eyes, he supposed it was really just pausing for a moment—though he couldn't shake the feeling that it was observing him somehow. Almost as if in thought, it shut its mouth and leaned in closer.

He used this short time of inactivity to his advantage, wriggling an arm out from under its grasp and then the other. With both hands, he pushed against its snout for leverage while kicking his feet to try and slide away. His frantic movements triggered the beast back into action. It lifted its head up, let out a low, rumbling bellow, and snapped its head back down, jaws wide open. Silver managed to grab at its upper and lower jaw before it made contact with his body. He held them apart and shoved it the best he could so that it wouldn't clamp onto his chest. His arms strained under the tremendous strength of the creature, his heart thrumming so fast he thought it would beat right out of his rib cage. The heat above him from its magma form seemed to permeate deep into his flesh.

No, that wasn't it. Whatever heat he felt radiating off the Biter hailed in comparison to that coming from within himself. The familiar sensation surged through him in an instant, overwhelming him and causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. At the same time, his strength started to fail him, allowing those terrible fangs to inch closer. What was only a split second of tension felt like it lasted several minutes. Then, something snapped inside. His quills bristled, fur darkened to a light shade of grey, and when he opened his eyes, his pupils thinned just slightly. Newfound power enabled him not only push the creature away once more, but to force its jaws shut and cast it off him.

It skidded on its side right into a dead tree. Silver staggered to a stand and whipped his head in the direction that it fell, seeing it already back on its feet, poised to strike again. Another growl rumbled out of its throat. A much quieter, yet near identical sound came muffled from the hedgehog himself, though in the height of adrenaline, it went unnoticed. Just as the Biter bounded towards him and he lifted the logs previously dropped, Blaze entered the battle with a kick to its head.

Against both of them, it didn't stand a chance. A few more blows had it breaking apart, and in the end, only a burst of fire and a cooling puddle of lava was left in its wake. They approached the remains curiously, then looked at each other with an expression of pure bewilderment. No trace of Silver's sudden changes were left, and the pair were none the wiser to it ever happening.

Silver was first to speak.

"Uh... Blaze, aren't the spawns supposed to be, uh, not spawning anymore? And what are they doing here?"

"I'm as confused as you are, Silver. This doesn't make any sense, Iblis is the only thing capable of making them, and since Iblis is in you..."

"Are you trying to say I made these? Why would my own creations attack me too?"

Blaze shrugged.

"It's possible that Iblis found a way to manipulate the outside world, _without_ your interference." she theorized. "It would explain why they're here of all places. The two of us are the only ones around for miles, and everything here is already destroyed."

"This just keeps getting worse," Silver sighed.

After a brief pause, he spoke again.

"How'd you even beat that Biter so fast?"

"I didn't," she admitted. "It ran off."

"A Biter running away? Since when do they do something like that? Come to think of it, the one that was on me acted kind of strange too."

"What do you mean?"

"It like... stopped for a second, like it was looking me over. Like it was _thinking_ ," he said. "I've got a feeling there's more to this than we thought."

"Maybe we should turn back, then. Some of the files left in Mephiles' workshop could help explain this a little. We need to be prepared for what's to come," Blaze suggested.

"No, we can do that later and we've already gotten so far. Who knows? Whatever's out there might have the answers we're looking for. And if not, well, we'd be one chaos emerald closer to fixing all of this, right?"

After a period of uncertainty, Blaze nodded.

"Alright then, let's not waste anymore time," Silver said eagerly.

***

Their journey was short lived, as the thing they've been searching for appeared before them merely half a mile away. A deep, gaping crater which extended about a hundred meters across, the bottom of which was filled with bubbling magma. Silver stood at the edge of it with Blaze, doing nothing but staring into its depths.

"Why'd we stop? Is it down there?" Blaze asked.

There was no response from him.

"Silver? Hello?" she leaned in closer, looking at his blank, unmoving eyes.

From within the gorge, something began to brew, they could feel it in ground which shook beneath their feet. Still, Silver stood motionless. Blaze gave him a shake to his shoulder.

"Silver, what has gotten into you?"

***

He couldn't move, the air seemed to press on him from all sides, holding him in place. His body felt limp, relaxed even, though his mind screamed at him to do _something_ , anything but stay here. He could hear the faint sound of Blaze's voice right next to him, yet couldn't make out a single word, everything tangling together in a mess of syllables.

In a flash, a spire of flame shot out of the crater. He could hear Blaze shouting, but his attention was entirely consumed by the sight in front of him. It beckoned to him, and the fire inside beckoned back. Like two ants touching antenna, a slew of information was communicated, and he knew exactly what was going on.

What he harbored inside him was not Iblis. No, it was only a piece to a two piece puzzle. And that towering thing outside? It was the other piece. The other half of Iblis. Those broken halves wanted desperately to be together, and in his hazy moment of half-consciousness, he actually wanted the same thing.

The flames bent towards him and he accepted, letting his own fire sprout out of his chest to meet it. That was until Blaze snapped him out of it by knocking him away. He fell onto his backside and tried to shake the fog out of his head.

"Ugh... Blaze? I—you... we got to get out of here _now_ ," he said, struggling to put his thoughts back together.

"You don't have to tell me twice, come on."

Blaze then helped him up and the two of them ran all the way out to the edge of the black forest, where they took a break at Silver's request. 

"Blaze, I have to tell you something," he said through his panting. 

"Yes?"

_"Iblis is still out there."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the comments, it really encourages me to keep updating this. i'm hoping to do a chapter about every week, but we'll see. i swear the time travel and other characters are coming soon, along with a twist to the story i really hope you don't leave me for. thanks again for checking out my work even if you don't comment.


	4. Chapter 4

Blaze stared into Silver's panic-stricken eyes as he continued heaving against a tree trunk.

"What are you saying?" she asked once he began to calm.

"I'm saying that stuff down in the crater _was_ Iblis, or, part of it at least..."

"A part of it?"

Silver nodded slowly. "Yeah, something went wrong when I was trying to seal Iblis, I remember now. It was too much for me, so I ended up forcing it in the rest of the way with my powers. I must have not gotten it all, and when I did that, well—" He made a gesture like tearing a sheet of paper in front of him. "It just... split apart."

Silence filled the space between them. Blaze let Silver catch his breath as she thought over the situation, deciding what their next course of action should be with this new information. After a full minute, the hedgehog spoke up again.

"It's not like Solaris," he elaborated. "Iblis is _broken_ , not separated. The pieces—they're the same entity, and it is _not_ happy with being ripped in two."

Blaze raised an eyebrow at him.

"How do you know this?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, it all just kind of came to me when I was close to the other half."

"You mean it communicated with you?"

"Yeah, I guess. It didn't talk or anything though. It was more—" he searched for the right words. "More of a feeling, you know? Memories and emotions, but no thought."

Another pause where nothing was said. Silver kept his sight trained on the area they left. Now that he knew what was over there, what had been luring him this entire time, an awful sense of dread formed a lump in his throat. He swallowed dryly.

"We should keep going," he said, although he was still recovering from the short sprint out of the forest.

On his first few steps, a pang of hunger shot through his stomach, prompting him to slow down. _Oh, that was right._ He hadn't eaten anything for the whole day, and the sun was even dipping from the horizon. 

"We should stop by the Oasis before anything else," he mentioned. "I'm starving."

***

Silver's legs were really aching now, along with his empty stomach. There was some solace in the fact that the hot sun no longer oppressed them from above, but they still had quite a way to go before they were in town. The thought of flopping onto a mattress after a hearty meal of prepackaged pasta with canned tomato sauce was the only thing keeping him from stopping. That, and the horrifying reality of having half of an upset, destructive demigod trapped inside of him, the other half of which likely wanting him either dead or brainwashed so it could access its missing part.

What kind of a mess had he gotten himself into?

When the last rays of sunshine painted the sky in hues of red and orange, a foreboding shadow drifted overhead.

_"Please just be a weird looking cloud,"_ Silver thought, willing himself to look up.

It was not a cloud.

Flying high above him was an Iblis Taker, beating its fiery wings in even, slow strokes. The scene of it gliding smoothly through the air against the backdrop of a setting sun might have been considered graceful, if this oversized bird was something other than a mindless monster set on burning everything in sight. Before Blaze and him could react, it dived down towards them with a speed that would challenge Sonic's. It's talons stretched open, aiming straight for Blaze.

This time, she did not dodge fast enough.

It grasped her shoulders tightly, immediately taking to the sky with the struggling cat in its clutch. Her legs kicked out as it brought her higher. 

"Silver!" she yelled.

Silver gawked up at her, too shocked to do anything but shout her name back. What else could he do? There was no object around him to throw at the creature, and even if he could, the chance of accidentally hitting Blaze seemed too risky. In a moment like this, he would have simply flew after it, but that ability was still gone. He was utterly and truly stuck.

Watching his friend be taken away sparked something deep inside. That same feeling again, a roaring fire setting his heart alight, making the organ race and shocking his nerves into life. It was a rush, a high of proportion so great that it consumed him entirely. And now that he knew what it was, it _terrified_ him.

No, he wouldn't let this happen, he wouldn't let it take him. Using all his willpower, he gripped the fur on his chest, which was already alight, and channeled his energy at the growing fire inside. Meanwhile, Blaze was being lifted farther away, making it that much harder not to lose himself. His arm trembled as he forced the flame to a smaller size, compressing it into a searing ball of plasma. Trapping it, yet unable to rid himself of it.

His resolve was quickly failing.

He couldn't stand seeing his friend in danger like that. He couldn't stand feeling so _helpless_ to do anything about it. He couldn't fight Iblis like this. It was too much for him to handle. With fingers still tangled in his fur, he collapsed to his knees, using whatever strength he had left to keep Iblis from getting out. It did not last very long. In seconds, the flames burst from the field he held it in, spreading fast throughout his body and covering him in a swirling tornado of fire. His sight was nothing but red, his mind went hot, thoughts as scattered as the inferno around him. Then, as suddenly as it began, it vanished into thin air, leaving the distressed white hedgehog on his hands and knees.

Except he didn't look much like a hedgehog anymore, and he wasn't white.

His lengthened fur flowed in the warm breeze of evening, pristine ivory color dimmed to an ash gray, not including the mane-like mass of fur at his chest and back. Almost every part of his body carried more bulk, from his wide chest to his broad shoulders, and the width of his arms had more than tripled in size, leading to absurdly large, blue gray hands. At the tip of each finger was a sharp, thick-looking nail, giving him the appearance of having claws. His trademark, fanning pattern of quills had flattened back, becoming nearly flush with the two longer bottom quills.

He glared up at the escaping Taker with snake-like eyes, mind moving a mile a minute with thoughts that were only half his own. He could not see himself—or at least he did not register the difference—for his attention was dominated by that which angered him to no end. He clawed at the asphalt beneath him, elongated tail lashing in agitation, and snarled at the infuriating sight above.

Wisps of psychic energy dispersed around him and the road itself began to lift, bending and twisting as it was forced from the ground until finally breaking apart. The chunk of asphalt hovered in front of his face, yet his focus was entirely on Blaze and the flaming bird. After a tense moment of concentration, he flung the piece of road into the sky.

It collided with its target and luckily not with the struggling victim who he was trying to save. The Taker let out a piercing screech and its talons released the cat as it fell, bursting into flames before it could hit the ground. Silver rushed after his plummeting friend on all fours, managing to grab her just in time. His sudden stop caused him to tumble a few feet with Blaze tucked safety in his arms.

_Wait, was Blaze always so small?_

He removed himself from her slowly. She stood up and stared at him, wondering if somehow her eyes were deceiving her. He stared back.

_Nope, still the same size,_ he thought.

Then he caught a glimpse of himself.

Looking down, he saw the extra fluff covering his chest, the bulky arms at his sides, the darkened color of his fur, _everything_.

"What the—?!" he yelped, losing balance and falling backwards.

His tail automatically flailed in his panic, ending up between his legs. The limb was nearly as long as his body and reptile-like, though it was covered in the same gray fur as the rest of him. He desperately tried to scoot away from it as if it were a separate creature. Once he realized that it was, in fact, just his tail but much longer, he ceased his attempt.

"What the heck happened to me?" he thought aloud. Upon hearing his deep, growling voice, he put a hand up to his throat. "And what's up with my voice?"

Blaze moved closer to him, one arm outstretched in caution.

"Try to calm down, Silver," she said.

"How can I calm down? _Look at me!"_ he yelled, gesturing widely to his whole body.

Blaze took a half step back, causing Silver to rethink his little outburst.

"Look, I'm sorry Blaze," he said as he got back up. "Really, its just... well, what am I supposed to do about this? If someone sees me..."

He trailed off and Blaze knew exactly what he was trying to say; 

_What if they shoot?_

She shook her head, coming closer once more to comfort him.

"We don't know yet if this is permanent," she mentioned. "And I'll be sure to keep you safe for the time being."

"Even if it goes away, this proves that the issue is getting worse. Iblis gets bolder by the _hour_ , Blaze. We don't have the time to sit around waiting, research or not, we have to try something!"

Another pang of hunger went through him, and he added, "After a quick bite to eat, of course."

***

They walked the rest of the way in the moonless dark, Blaze conjuring a small flame to light their way. It had been a long time since the night wasn't constantly lit up by fire and lava. Silver practically stumbled on each step as they trekked down the highway, partly due to his exhaustion and partly because he still wasn't used to his new, larger form. Much to his dismay, his tail dragged on the rough asphalt. When they arrived at the outskirts of the Oasis, Silver had a sudden realization. 

"Aw man, I can't go in there! My reputation's bad enough as it is with the locals."

Blaze thought for a moment.

"The eastside gate always has less traffic. I can scout for anyone out so you can slip in unnoticed. There's a gutted building close by that people tend not to visit at night."

_Thank Chaos for Blaze's attention to detail,"_ Silver thought.

"It's worth a shot," he said.

They carried out their plan smoothly, and soon, Silver found himself in an empty room. He couldn't see a thing.

"Is there at least a light left in here somewhere?" he complained.

"There doesn't seem to be," Blaze answered, "But I'll look for a lamp while I get some food for us. Any requests?"

"Yeah, pasta please," he said, his deeper voice making the statement sound almost comical.

"See you soon, Silver."

And now he was alone, blind in a dark, decrepit room with nothing but his worries and hunger pains. He let out a long sigh as he paced around nervously before settling at a spot in a corner. There, he curled on the floor, resting his head on his forearm and tucking his legs close to his body—a strangely comfortable position considering the hard surface he lied upon. If there was one good thing to come of all this extra fur on him, it was that it managed to cushion him like a blanket, shielding him from the slight chill of nighttime.

He yawned. 

Comfort mixed with fatigue made for a pretty strong sleep aid. His eyelids felt heavier by the second, and although the room made it hard to tell whether his eyes were open or closed, he fought to stay awake. Despite his best efforts and the gnawing pain in his gut, he slipped from consciousness in a matter of minutes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand there's the twist. bless anyone who's still reading this. next update is probably gonna be awhile because i've got other ideas and no attention span.


	5. Chapter 5

Blaze shook her head and sighed as she stepped into the room, gas lantern held in one hand and a container filled with spaghetti in the other.

"How many times am I going to find you like this?" she said softly, placing the lantern in the middle of the room.

As if in response, a low rumbling sound came from the slumbering mass of fluff in the corner, making Blaze turn to watch him for a second.

"Silver? Are you awake?" she asked.

The same sound only repeated, though a bit more prolonged than the last. After a short pause there was another, then another, all while he stayed in place, face now tucked into both arms—muffling the sound some.

He was _snoring._

Blaze couldn't help but give a small smile at the discovery. They'd slept separately yet in close proximity to each other for years, and she'd _never_ heard him snore even once. She knew that it likely had something to do with his...interesting new look, but she found amusement in it regardless.

Taking her own seat at the wall adjacent to her friend, she took the plastic bowls meant for the two of them from the top of the container, putting one on her lap and the other back on the container that she placed at her side, along with its utensil. She lifted the lid carefully, flipping it clean side down on the floor and putting the extra bowl right next to it. She then proceeded to help herself to a serving of pasta.

It was around ten minutes later, when she was halfway done with her meal, that something flashed in her peripheral vision. She turned to it, seeing Silver partly engulfed in flames, the bestial hedgehog only mildly disturbed by the event. He stirred in his sleep, tail curling tighter to himself, and moaned quietly as the flames covered his entire body.

Blaze put the bowl of spaghetti down and stood up fast, alert although there wasn't much else she could do. As it turned out, there was no need to do anything at all, since the moment the fire died down, a more familiar sight lay still asleep before her. No longer were the claws and fangs, just the kind hedgehog she'd come to know as her best friend. 

She was sure Silver would be relieved waking up in the morning.

***

A feeling of disorientation washed over him the instant he opened his eyes. He sat up, scanned the room, and called out to a certain purple cat, who lied close by on the ground with a blanket wrapped around herself.

"Hey, Bl—" he stopped himself short when he heard his own voice. His _true_ voice, not that deep, gruff one that came with whatever the heck he turned into last night. His eyes darted down, gloved fingers running through his chest fur, surprise turning to content as a gentle smile graced his face.

"Blaze, I'm back to normal! I've got my gloves back and everything," he said, words rushed out from excitement. 

The louder tone caused Blaze to finally rouse out of her sleep. She removed the blanket and Silver saw the small bed of pillows she'd been lying on that he hadn't noticed before.

"That's great," she mumbled, still clearly drowsy, whereas Silver was refreshed and wide awake.

"Why are you on the ground?" he began to ask. "I'm sure someone could have spared a room for you."

"I wanted to stay here with you in case anything else happened, but I couldn't find any empty rooms that had two beds," she answered.

Hearing this, Silver's expression saddened.

"Aw, you didn't have to do that for me. You should've gotten the bed," he said.

Blaze shook her head. "You've been through a lot lately. Besides, I didn't sleep _too terribly_ ," she claimed, though the dark lines under her eyes told a different story.

A loud growl came from Silver's stomach that changed his attention to the now numb pain in his gut. Blaze could hear it as well, and pointed to a half-full container of pasta on a shelf.

"Spaghetti's over there. I'd reheat it for you, but the bowls are made of plastic. I could go find a stove and—"

"No need," Silver said, already making his way to the food. Too hungry to care, he opened the lid, took the fork in hand, and started eating the cold pasta right out of the container.

An amused smile spread on Blaze's lips.

"Do you at least want some water to wash it down?"

"I'll get it myself, thanks anyway," the hedgehog mumbled through mouthfuls of coiled spaghetti.

As he scarfed down the pasta, Blaze moved to fold her blanket. She took the four pillows she'd been resting on and stacked them next to a wall, putting the folded sheet on top of it. When she was done with her small task, she looked to Silver, noting that the clear plastic tub was nearly empty.

"You shouldn't eat so fast, you know. You'll get a stomach ache."

"Mmph... sorry, sorry," he responded in the middle of a bite. The last few forks of spaghetti were eaten with some amount of care, yet it was still finished fairly quick. After closing the lid, he took it into his hands along with the two bowls and utensils.

"Let's head out and get this taken care of," he said.

***

The pair traversed through town, items in hand to clean and return to the community center. Silver stayed lost in thought as they worked on their chores, and only when they were finished did he speak what was on his mind.

"I was thinking about what we can do, about the... situation and all," he started. "Have you ever heard of the Master Emerald?"

If the expression on Blaze's face was anything to go by, the answer was no. Confirming this, she shook her head.

"Well, I had a conversation with Knuckles when we were in the past, just small talk really, and I learned about his devotion to this powerful relic. He told me that it had control over the chaos emeralds, able to take energy away from them or even to amplify it. With powers like that, it could surely charge our emeralds. Unfortunately, he's the only one who can tap into its powers, and the Master Emerald itself is likely long gone by now, shattered across the globe," he made a short pause to let Blaze absorb the information before continuing. "So, it got me thinking; what if we went back to when it still had a guardian? We could ask Knuckles for help and have the emeralds charged much faster than it would take on their own."

"You mean time travel? You know we need the chaos emeralds for that."

"That's the thing though, what if we don't? You remember how Mephiles took us back, yeah?"

Blaze gave him a confused look that asked the question; _where are you going with this?_ But she nodded her head anyways.

"He didn't use anything to do it, it just _happened_ , like he had some innate ability for it. Now that we know he was a part of Solaris all that time, and that's where his powers came from, can't we assume that Iblis has similar abilities? It may have been unable to utilize it properly without its intellectual side. And I don't mean to brag, but I think I might be able to fill that role. Sure, I only have half of it, but it's still worth a try, right?"

At this point, they had stopped by an area where they wouldn't be overheard, figuring the locals were paranoid enough as it was. Blaze rubbed the back of her ear in thought as Silver looked on at her in anticipation for what she thought about his idea.

"Alright," she said. "But we should get away from here first, in case your 'trial' turns into a bonfire."

***

When they were far enough from town somewhere along the outskirts, Silver settled on the hood of an abandoned car and began to concentrate on finding this "hidden ability" that may or may not be there. Blaze had raised an eyebrow at his choice of seating, to which he cocked his head in slight confusion.

"Your powers have a tendency to make things catch fire now, and you're sitting on there?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with—oh..."

Realization hitting him, he slipped off the very flammable car and moved a significant amount of paces away.

"Shoot, I really wanted to relax for this... oh well, here goes nothing."

The white hedgehog then shut his eyes to focus on what he believed he should; the specific time they'd gone to before. The misunderstanding, that human princess, all the wonderful sights and sounds of a world unscathed—these memories flooded to him in vivid images behind his closed lids, and he searched deep within himself to invoke something more.

Once he found it, he wished he hadn't.

That internal fire lit up yet again. No longer was it any surprise to him, nor did the heat bother him much, but it still unnerved him like nothing else. Who knows what would happen if he let it proliferate a second time? His eyes snapped open and he looked to Blaze, as if she had been reading his mind and could offer him advice. Her expression of concern mirrored his own.

"Are you alright? Did something happen?" she asked.

"N—yes, I mean, I don't—maybe this isn't..." he shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. 

_"Pull yourself together, Silver. You can do this, you're in control, not that... monster. You can't give up now, you have to at least try."_

"It's fine. I just have to focus," he finally said.

The skepticism on Blaze's face slowly gave way to a supportive nod.

"Stop if you need to. Please, don't push yourself too hard."

"I know, I know..."

Silver then returned to his mock meditation, invoking those same memories and feelings within himself. When the flames struck his heart this time, he did not avoid it. He contained it, kept it from escaping his will as he worked on finding that secret _spark_ , whatever it may be. There was certainly a reaction to what he was doing, he just needed a way to utilize it. He needed a comparison. He needed familiarity.

_"If time was an object, I could bring two separate instances of it, two different moments, together. But objects can only come so close to one another. If I could phase one through the other..."_

A crackle of energy caught his attention, and he opened his eyes to see the remnants of... something vanish in a flurry of cyan sparks.

"Did you see that? I think it's working!"

"There was a portal for a second. Try to keep it open."

"No way! Don't worry, I got this."

With renewed vigor, he resumed his efforts. Soon he was able to feel as well as hear another rift begin to open, and only when it seemed stable enough did he spare a glance at the result. Hovering a few feet in front of him was a bright, almost blinding portal. It's edges were tinted a subtle blue and it's core swirled in pure white. He stared speechlessly at his creation for a second.

"Wow... I guess we should hop in now. I don't know how long it'll stay open for."

Doubtful of jumping in himself, he added, "Ladies first."

Blaze narrowed her eyes at him playfully and stepped towards the mystery portal. Purple fur disappeared the instant she made contact with its surface and Silver followed right after her—taking a deep inhale like he was going to dive into a pool.

His vision went white, body weightless as he drifted in the absence of time itself, before being unceremoniously dumped onto a hardwood floor. He groaned and rubbed at the back of his head, which had taken the brunt of the fall, and took a long look at his surroundings.

Blooms of all shapes and sizes filled shelf after shelf of neatly bundled bouquets. The variety of vibrant colors caused his dazed mind to reel slightly, so he closed his eyes to recover from the sudden dizziness. That's when someone approached him. He could hear the gentle flutter of small wings inch closer. Once he opened his eyes, he saw a young girl floating next to him, her 'tail' producing a pulsing, yellow glow behind her. Her smile was gentle, and she greeted him like a good friend.

"Hello there. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

He hesitated to answer at first, a bit off put by her nonchalant reaction to seeing someone drop out of thin air.

"Uh, y-yeah. Have you seen a purple cat around here?"

"Sure, there's one who visits my shop sometimes. He's a big softy, if you—"

"No, that's not it. I'm looking for a _girl_ cat. She would have came out of nowhere, like me."

"Sorry, I can't say I've seen anyone but you do that. If she's somewhere in the city though, you might be able to get the newscasters to send out a notice if it's important," the firefly suggested.

A dead end. Putting something like that into motion would take much too long. He needed to change his direction of questioning.

"Never mind. Have you heard of someone called 'Sonic'?"

"Who hasn't? If you need to find him, that's easy. Just ask around in Knothole and someone's bound to know where he's head off to. Or you can just follow the trail of crushed bots," she joked.

Good, that meant he was in the right time at least. With any luck, Blaze wouldn't be far.

He thanked the firefly and they said their goodbyes. After he left the quaint little shop, he turned back briefly to take in its exterior. Next to the door was a white, wooden sign, and painted elegantly in pink were the words:

_Gem's Floristry_

_Flower Arrangements_   
_Potted Plants_   
_& Gardening Supplies_

Seeing the name made him realize that he hadn't even introduced himself. Although she didn't seem like the type to get bothered by that sort of thing, it made him feel guilty for being so impersonal. Sure, he was in a rush, but still. 

Maybe when this was all over he'd buy something from there and they could have a proper conversation.

It was a nice thought, but with a gathering crowd and the sounds of commotion brewing, he was reminded of one crucial aspect of his life:

Trouble always found him, no matter what time he was in. 


	6. Chapter 6

Dozens of mostly human citizens congregated about a block away. They chattered frantically over each other as they all looked on in the same direction, some pointing fingers at whatever had caused such a stir. Silver joined the crowd and listened in on the scattered conversations.

"Is it still in there?"

"Was that Sonic?"

"No, it can't be. It has to be one of Eggman's bots."

The hedgehog did his best to shove through (a difficult task with his small size) so he could catch a glimpse of the subject of interest. Everyone was turned to face a fortified building, but it's stark, contrasting design was not what garnered their attention, rather the still smoking damage it had sustained. The strong material that constructed its walls had one wide hole blasted through it, and from within, a red light flickered on and off.

"Look! It's coming out!"

True to the stranger's observation, a metallic figure stepped out from the damaged structure. It's form much resembled the speedy hero in both height and shape, even sporting cool blue paint and false quills on its head. Its cold, digital gaze scanned the gathering of people, giving Silver enough time to notice the glowing object clutched in its sharp fingers.

"That's... a Chaos Emerald!" he exclaimed in shock.

The robot eerily turned to the sound of Silver's voice, as it closely matched that of the one it was sworn to defeat, but a quick examination of the source dismissed this. Even quicker, however, was the speed of a certain blue hedgehog as he approached the scene. A deafening boom, then a streak of cobalt, and Sonic arrived with a spin dash aimed right at his double.

Due to its distraction, Metal Sonic was sent flying into the nearest building from the blow. Sparks flew when its metallic shell scraped along the pavement until stopped by said building, and Sonic landed much more gracefully with a cocky smirk spread across his muzzle.

"Hey, bolt brain! You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did ya?"

If robots could emote, Metal would have been _seething._ Oh, how it hated its inferior, flesh counterpart, _especially_ when he gloated in its face. There was no greater insult than his constant mocking. No greater embarrassment than the humiliating defeats it suffered. So many times was it sent into repair by the speedster, but now it had a Chaos Emerald _and_ an advanced drive to increase its energy capacity—allowing it to better utilize the power of Chaos.

Metal Sonic lifted itself back up, stance ready for a fight.

"Now we're talking! C'mon, step it up!"

Just then, a transmission came in through Metal's internal communicator. It blocked an attack using its free hand as it listened in. 

_"What do you think you're doing? Get out of there! Your mission is to bring me the Chaos Emerald and that's it. Sonic can wait for another day."_

The message was from none other than Dr. Eggman. Its creator, its master, and therefore the demand could not be ignored, no matter how much it wanted to put the overconfident rodent in his place. 

Sonic spun furiously against the robotic palm his enemy blocked him with, trying hard to wear it down and break through the tough armor. As soon as Dr. Eggman's message was over, Metal finally pushed back, launching the hero into a building as Sonic had done to it moments prior. Sonic hit the concrete rough, causing him to unfurl from the tight ball he'd pulled himself into and drop flat on his back. He groaned and slowly lifted his head up, seeing the purple gem (that he'd only noticed now) held out in Metal's hand. It's natural glow intensified, sending rays of light in all directions. Sonic scrambled to a stand. Chaos Emeralds only did that when... 

_"Shoot!"_ he exclaimed. 

He rushed to the robotic double, but before he was able to connect another spin dash, his target vanished away in a flash. 

"Aw c'mon! That's no fun," the disappointed hedgehog sighed, tapping his foot. 

"Sonic!" someone called out. 

His ear twitched curiously to the sound. Once he turned around to see Silver jogging over to him, the corners of his mouth raised into a smile.

"Long time no see, Silver! What brings you back here?"

"It's complicated—"

"What? Disaster's going to strike in a few days or you're just on a visit? I haven't seen you in three months, man!"

_Three months?_ For Silver, the last time he'd seen Sonic was little over a week ago. His new power must not have been very accurate...

"No, it's nothing like that, I just need to find Blaze right now, she—"

"Blaze is here too? She somewhere in the city?"

"I don't know... probably?"

"I can help you with that, no sweat! Hold on."

And Sonic was gone like the wind. He sped across the entire city, searching high and low for a hint of lilac. His legs carried him uptown, downtown, and all around in a grid-like pattern through the streets—swerving past cars with flawless skill to return to where his dumbfounded friend stood in less than a minute. He made an exaggerated shrug and shook his head at Silver.

"Sorry bud, no luck. I even slowed down a little when I saw anything purple. She's not here, or not anywhere outside. Anything else I can help ya with?"

"No thanks, it's fine, I'll just—" Silver paused, thinking it over for a moment. He knew Sonic could take in his surroundings as fast as he could run, otherwise he'd be crashing into stuff all the time, and if he hadn't seen Blaze outside, then there was a high possibility that she wasn't in the city. Unless she'd also inexplicably spawned inside of a building. Even if she did, she'd be out to look for him as well, and if Blaze wasn't as close as he'd hoped...

Then it was on with the rest of the plan for now.

"You'll what?" Sonic asked, patience already running thin.

"Actually, there is something you can help me with. You'd know where Knuckles is, right?"

"Knucklehead? Yeah, of course! He's always on Angel Island if nothing else concerns him. C'mon! We can take my plane over there."

Sonic stretched his legs, clearly preparing to sprint his way over to Tails' workshop. This normally wouldn't be a problem for Silver. With his powers, he could propel himself through the air at roughly the same speed as Sonic, but that's where the issue lied. He still couldn't fly.

"W-wait!" he exclaimed.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I can't really, uh, fly right now. I won't be able to keep up with you."

"Gotcha, no problem man."

Before Silver was able to question it, Sonic zipped over to him, swiftly scooping him up into his arms. The startled hedgehog made a small noise of surprise, which Sonic completely ignored. 

"Here we... go!" Sonic announced.

Going from zero to who knows how many miles an hour in a fraction of a second was quite a jarring experience for the held hedgehog, more so when he had no control over the movement. His stomach lurched, the beginning of motion sickness taking hold, threatening to make him spew his half-digested meal of pasta and red sauce. It didn't help any that his living taxi had to zigzag around the plethora of vehicles that lined the streets, each sharp and sudden turn sending another wave of nausea to his core. He swallowed hard and squirmed in the peach arms, an action that went unnoticed by the blue blur.

Thankfully, super speed meant they were out of the city super fast, and without so many turns, Silver could recover some on the way down the highway. That was until trees replaced the cars as obstacles and the second round of dizzying bends commenced. Although he was a little better prepared for the abrupt maneuvers, a pained groan escaped him. He felt the soft rumble of a chuckle in Sonic's chest shortly after.

"Don't worry, bud. We're almost there."

Sonic came to a stop at the workshop within the next few minutes. He put Silver back onto solid ground, keeping an arm hooked under the other's to support his friend momentarily.

"You gonna be alright there? You're not looking too hot..."

Silver didn't answer. Something was rising in his gut and his concentration was fully on keeping it from getting out. A hand was placed firmly over his mouth. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in—

"Uurp"

Just a burp.

He sighed in relief. It didn't seem like he was going to upchuck anything anytime soon.

"Yeah, I'm okay now."

"Great! I'm gonna go see if Tails is in, you can come with if you want," Sonic offered.

Silver shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

Sonic was already at the heavy metal door, giving it a few fast knocks. 

"Yo, Tails! You home?"

"Sonic? Door's unlocked, come right in. I'm just wrapping up a little project..."

Sonic wasted no time in opening the door and stepping inside. He was immediately greeted by his best friend, who waved him over from his place at a large desk. Strewn across its surface were piles of schematics, measuring tools, and notes, one of which it seemed Tails had been in the middle of working on before the two stepped in, and he carefully stacked the unfinished note on a pile of similar papers.

"Hey Sonic—" he paused after swiveling around to see not one, but two hedgehogs in his workshop. The white furred one gave him an awkward smile and a slow wave, staying in the doorway like there was a force field preventing him going inside. Tails returned the wave and looked to Sonic.

"Is something wrong?" the young kitsune asked, confusing his big bro.

"Huh? No, why would there be?"

"Well, the last time Silver was here was to prevent a disaster from happening in his time, and he tried to kill you..."

"Yeah, but we patched it up, remember? It was all a huge misunderstanding. I even took this sad sap around some of the best spots here before he went back to his cruddy city," he turned to face Silver with a wide grin. "Don't be such a stranger by the way, come in dude!"

Silver hesitated, reminded of the moment that the oversharing hedgehog referred to. It was a a time of vulnerability for him, one that should have been seen by no one—except for maybe Blaze. But Blaze had not been there that day. Instead, while he was brooding quietly away from everyone, none other than the "Iblis Trigger" himself had showed up. He remembered getting a tap on the shoulder and looking up to see his gentle smile. It was awkward. Like, _really_ awkward, but Sonic was a persistent guy, and eventually, he got Silver to squeak out what was on his mind. He was exhausted both mentally and physically, so in the end, everything he'd been thinking about just kind of... spilled out.

***

_"I don't want to let anyone down..."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I... I don't want to go back. I've lived there for so long and seeing this beautiful place just makes me... it makes me feel so guilty; wishing it was mine, knowing that I could stay. How long will it be before things start to heal? How do I even know that I have the strength to take on Iblis again? Each time I fight it, it feels like... like a piece of me just chips off."_

If it were Blaze, she would have given him a good talking to, set him straight with only a few words. He could hear her voice somewhere in the back of his head telling him to be strong and keep on fighting. To never give up. So when what followed was nothing but a heavy silence, he was reminded that this was not Blaze next to him. Why did he say anything at all? This guy hardly knew him, he couldn't possibly—

_"I think I understand,"_ said the blue hedgehog.

Those words whipped him right out of his internal monologue. He'd turned to face where it came from, and for what felt like a long while, the two of them stared at each other; Silver gazing into emerald green eyes, utterly bewildered, and Sonic looking on at Silver's golden ones, eyes bright and smile kind. The silence was... strangely less tense than it had been before. Almost as if knowing the perfect moment to do so, Sonic broke eye contact and turned to the ocean. 

_"I can only imagine what it'd be like if Eggman had his way. If everything around me was cold metal since the beginning? I'm sure I wouldn't be so eager to keep fighting either."_

The way Sonic was talking to him felt so foreign. Where Blaze would have given him a straight answer to his dilemma, this near stranger hadn't offered any advice yet. He was only trying to _relate to him._ Nothing could have prepared him for Sonic's next words.

_"The ocean's real pretty, isn't it? Hey, since you like Soleanna so much, what'd you think of seeing more landmarks? If you follow me, I can take you to some of the nicest places in the world. That is, if you can keep up. What do you say?"_

Silver was positively _floored_ by the proposition.

_"I... what?"_

_"There's more than just this city to see, and you haven't really had a chance to travel yet, have you?"_

_"Well, yeah, but this... this isn't a vacation..."_

_"Want to make it one, just for a little while? I promise it will only take till the end of today. C'mon, you deserve a little break for what you did to stop Mephiles."_

_"I don't—I... s-sure."_

***

"Yo, Mobius to Silver. Anyone home?"

Silver snapped out of his little day dream and saw Sonic's hand waving in front of him.

"You good? You kind of spaced out there for a sec."

Sonic's brow raised, a slight tilt to his head as he waited for an answer. The embrassed hedgehog rubbed at the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry," he said, walking past him to ease the awkwardness some.

"Right... so Tails, this guy over here needs to get to Angel Island. Is the Tornado all set?"

"The Tornado's just fine, but you may not need it to get to Angel Island."

"Huh? What do you mean, bud?"

"You didn't notice yet? Angel Island has fallen again..." 

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time posting to any website, so i wasn't sure how to tag it. more characters will be added as the story goes along, since i don't want to make guesses as to who i'll be adding. i'm also not sure if i want to tag my plans for the story because that would be spoilers, but i also don't want people to be blind to what they're getting into. enjoy


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